Seattle Cops Allow 'Mutual Combat'

Seattle Police officers decided not to intervene in a fight between a costumed superhero and another man Friday night under a little-known "mutual combat" law that allows fighting. Read the full story here.

Comments (15)

More and more we're seeing MMA techniques in street fights. Notice in this case the credible leg kicks by the costumed moron.

Mike @ 11/12/2012 5:05 PM

Dude got dropped by a super hero.

Rob @ 11/12/2012 5:20 PM

Hiram Legree...."costumed moron".....let's keep in mind the rednecks using the N word the whole time, let's showcase the real morons, those 3 redneck punks using N words and wanting to fight, while the guy who is an MMA fighter out of Washington attempts on multiple occasions walk away. The "punk" in the orange shirt got what was coming to him!

Dennis Hawker @ 11/12/2012 7:00 PM

Yeah, so. As a (disablity) retired California Highway Patrol Officer, I have been in similar situations, for the most part, filling for local officers / deputy Sheriff's officers. Absent someone pulling out a weapon / using it, we for the most part, allowed participants to exhaust their energy. It is unlawful to fight in a public place, but enforcement? What for, so police can get hurt by someone swinging a punch at the other? Yes, an instigator, which is normally is the case, was there. My thoughts: let participants get their jollies (absent weapons), then arrest both; simple paperwork and gets them off the street.

sam rowbottom @ 11/12/2012 7:30 PM

Im a redneck in ohio that never uses the so called "N" word. Racial slurs are used everyday and some may not like the words cracker or redneck. It could be used like the n word. Both parties ran their mouths and should have been arrested and chraged. Also with a degree in criminal justice it is not wise for an officer to jump in and attempt to control a situation like this alone while not knowing if either suspect or accomplices are armed with any type of weapon. Think of it as how you will, we all know all street fights are illegal and should not be displayed.

BW @ 11/12/2012 9:16 PM

That was lame. Mutual combat, no mutual combat, two dudes fighting over bravado is always lame. Glad cops in Seattle have the right to not interfere under mutual combat laws. Saves them the potential injuries.

Rainer @ 11/13/2012 2:37 AM

Well, very strange situation, not thinkable in Germany - but also not bad: the "punk" got what he cried for!!And we can see, the bystanders are more dangerous than the two fighters - hat babypunk did also cry for slaps....Im sorry he didn´t get the same.

Scott Hankins @ 11/13/2012 5:18 AM

If officers from my department stood by and watched a fight take place, they would be looking at time off. Sometimes, we get paid to protect people from themselves. This was foolish, both by the "fighters" and the cops. Aren't we supposed to be in charge of scenes, instead of acting as gawkers ourselves? Act like cops, not bystanders. Notice how things escalated after the guy went down?Those cops were allowing a situation to get out of hand, instead of intervening and separating them from their first arrival on the scene. Not a great show of "police presence", and it's all of video tape for the world to see.

S.S @ 11/13/2012 6:26 AM

Waaaaaaaaaay tooooooo much talking. The costumed dude should've just dropped their asses. The cops did their jobs. We have an unwritten mutual combat law out here in E.P. TX. Wish more people knew about it. They could resolve issues so much easier.

RJ @ 11/13/2012 11:03 AM

Pepperballs for everyone!

Chuck @ 11/14/2012 8:55 AM

They should have arrested that second loudmouth of a redneck for instigating not only the fight that resulted in his buddy getting his ass stomped; but for trying to instigate a second fight even after Mr. Jones started walking away. At the very least he was probably DIP.

It's nice to see such idiots pwned.

Lawgiver @ 11/24/2012 6:23 AM

What is not mentioned to much here is that the punk that got clocked was breaking into a car, and the mask man interrupted the crime that was taking place. It would help law-enforcement a lot if more folks cared enough to do something about crime, in fact i'm glad he clocked that fool, Because it's fool like that, that disrespect the law. great job to the mask marvel. Thats what we need more people taking on a pro active role in there areas of living.

Jeremy Janson @ 2/3/2013 11:37 AM

@Dennis: Washingtons Assault law has about 2 pages worth of loopholes, of which "mutual combat" is just one. It is NOT California and does not have Californian laws. There is also no specific Fraying law. In general, the assault law loopholes and Justifiable Homicide laws give anyone who is man enough to face his own problems more then sufficient leeway to handle his own assaults and dangerous situations. The job of cops is not to handle every petty problem, and frankly a little bit of public fighting keeps people polite.

Meh @ 3/10/2013 12:41 PM

If two people want to fight, let them. @Scott, most of us don't want to live in a Police state where the cops think they need to protect people from themselves. Freedom means you're free to make bad choices right along with the good ones.

Mike Oxlong @ 7/30/2014 12:57 PM

If the white dude beat up the costumed dude, all of you "costumed moron" people would be saying "The 'gangbanger/thug' got what he deserved" But since the dude legally got his ass whooped it's like "they both should have been arrested" lol

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